


Back up

by Incognito4713



Series: Nano2018 aka 101 dead chickens [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Pre-Promise Day, promise day preparations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 16:49:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16814605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incognito4713/pseuds/Incognito4713
Summary: What happened before the ice cream truck arrived in Central to save same bacons





	Back up

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy my take on what I think happened before the promised day

Xing

Maria Ross always believed in the statement, that women were brave and should not get discouraged by anything or anyone.  
Of course her own courage got tested a lot of times during her career in the Amestrian Military, especially since she met the Elric Brothers. 

But it was not until she had to flee the country and start a new life in Xing, that she ever felt hopelessness.  
She was all alone in a country she knew nothing about, surrounded by people, who did not speak her language and far away from everyone she held dear in her life.

Fu introduced her to his family and helped her get settled as best as he could, before he had to go back to his young master, back to Amestris. 

She tried hard to hide her tears in the dark of the night, but when the morning came and she had to face the new day, a heavy melancholy was still in her body and tired her out.  
She was never one to accept pity or defeat. 

And so she worked for her keep at every opportunity and asked for children's books to learn the language. To be of use again and to get her mind off of the whole situation.

Her favourite day was when the merchants came by the outskirts of the city, that the Yao clan lived in and she could get some trinkets from Amestris; ingredients and other things she missed from home.  
The family she stayed with enjoyed her cooking some western dishes on those days and it was a welcome break every now and then.

It came as a surprise to her when one of the merchants waved her over and handed her a chocolate bar.  
He said that it was given to him in a general store in the East and that she should enjoy it tonight.  
He also said he would stop by on his way back to Amestris the next morning. 

Not really knowing what to do with this information she went back to the house with her new acquired treat, even though she did not like chocolate at all.  
Maybe she could give it to the kids, if their parents allowed it. 

And what was it about that cryptic message anyway? 

She looked closer at the chocolate bar when she was back in her room and noticed that there was a note stuck in the wrapper. 

"RM needs help. JH" Was all it said and it took her a few moments to figure out what exactly this was supposed to mean. 

Roy Mustang sent for her. And the merchant was supposed to deliver her response back in the morning.  
This time when she started to cry it was happy tears. 

Maybe she would be able to go back home after all.  
To see her parents, and her country again.  
Maybe they could even clear up her name in the process? 

Hope filled her chest as she sat down and wrote a simple note back:  
"Awaiting instructions. MR"  
Her gaze fell onto one of the viols on her dresser that was filled with a perfume oil very common around here and she had an idea how she would be able to relay her response. 

The next morning she had a small satin bag with the tiny flask for the merchant and the note sealed in a plastic bag with wax swimming in the oil.  
It took two weeks until the next hidden message arrived but this time it was a long letter with detailed instructions as to what would be needed and what was going on.  
With a smile and a lighter heart she started the preparations. 

East City Headquarters 

Ever since her friend Riza got transferred to Central, thanks to that useless Colonel of hers, Rebecca Catalina had a very quiet, more like boring work schedule. Of course, she still had her friends and colleagues to keep her company in her breaks, but it was not the same. 

The two of them had been best friends since they started at the academy together, almost 10 years ago and now she was left behind. 

Of course, she was happy for Riza, she deserved the promotion and the higher status that came with the transfer, but it still made her feel a little bit lonely, if she was honest with herself. 

They talked on the phone at least once a week though, so she was never really left out of the loop and it was still fun to tease her friend about her superior officer. 

That was how she learned about the incident with the institute number 3 and in a moment of temporary insanity, she wanted to ask General Gruman to let her have a few days off to go to Central. 

Especially, once she heard that Riza now was the personal adjutant of King Bradley himself.  
She needed to see for herself that Riza was okay. 

But she did not even have to ask Grumman herself.  
The general approached her while she tried to distract herself at the range.  
Even though her mind was somewhere else entirely and her aim was off by a long shot.  
The general was his usual handsy self and luckily for him she did not shot him instead of the target. He gave her a message to deliver to the Colonel while she was at it. 

The meeting with Riza put her mind at ease and she was glad that she got to spend some time with her friend shopping and just relaxing before the next steps needed to be taken. 

It saddened her to hear what had happened to Lieutenant Havoc, after all she had been friends with him and Lieutenant Breda in the academy during the time that Riza was in Ishval.  
They made it their personal goal to make her forget about the constant danger her friend was in back then and so they became quite close.  
It had gotten themselves in some kind of trouble or another, every now and then and she was very grateful to her friends for all their effort. 

The fact that Mustang stole the boys away from her as well, was another reason that the matchstick was in her bad books. However, she tried to be happy for all of them.

And now that Havoc was permanently out, she had even more reasons to not be too fond of the flame alchemist.  
It was his fault Riza was held hostage, his fault Breda was even further away, and Havoc would never walk again. 

It did not matter very much to her, who the real culprits were. 

However, for now she could have a mental truce with him, even if it was just until this whole ordeal was over.  
Back in East City she delivered her report to the General and awaited his new instructions. 

Xing

It took her some time and effort to set up a plan and everything she might need to get the whole operation going, but the people of the Yao clan and its associated families were very helpful and with the Havocs’ connections, it was fairly easy to set up constant deliveries to their general store and storage. 

It also helped, that she herself, with her newly acquired language skills and looks, passed as someone with Xingnese heritage very easily.  
It made people friendlier towards her. 

The messages continued and now there were some from one Rebecca Catalina as well.  
She wrote her about everything going on in Central from her own source, Riza Hawkeye, newly appointed adjutant of the Führer himself. 

It gave her some kind of connection too to her home country to hear what was going on there.

Their timetable neared its end and it was time for her to go back. 

With one last farewell, she said her goodbyes to everyone who helped her and had shown her kindness. 

She knew that the chances of her coming back to see them again were low, but she tried not to let it show. 

For now her gaze was set on the West.  
To the people she left behind.  
The ones who missed her and had mourned her.  
The ones she was going into this fight for.  
Her friends.  
Her sergeant.  
The Elric kids.  
Her family.

East City

A few weeks passed before she got asked if she could escort the now released Jean Havoc back home to his family from the Capital and she did not even have to think about it twice before she took the car, offered to her by General Grumman himself, to drive to Central City. 

It was a long drive, but she did not really care.  
She had information to relay, while she was there and her determination spurred her on. 

The higher ups played their own game and she knew that they had a lot on their plates, but that would not keep her from carrying her fair share in this operation.  
She wanted to see the corruption burned out of the Amestrian system as badly as Riza did. 

And she chuckled when she noticed the exact wording she used.  
But nonetheless, she would do whatever she could to help them.  
No matter what. 

And so she had made plans.  
But for those to work she needed help. 

And one of the biggest supporters she could ask for was now sitting next to her, but he was very much drowning in self-pity. Even though he tried to hide it.

Countless visits and telephone calls were made between her and Lieutenant Havoc to get him into a mindset where he started to see that he was not in fact useless.  
Unless some Colonel when wet they both knew, which made Havoc at least laugh, when she pointed that out to him.

That he could still fight.  
That he could be a part of the change, even if it was not in the front lines. 

That they needed back up.  
That they needed suppliers, and who better to do that job, than the one working in a general store, which had supplied East City headquarters for decades? 

Someone who had connections to Xing and to supporters outside the jurisdiction of the Amestrian army? 

It took a while, but Rebecca made him realise that. 

And it was good to see him back, once they had a plan.  
They sent messages to each other via his siblings, who supplied the command center cafeteria with groceries and they got in touch with Maria Ross, who started working from within Xing, to get them what they would need to get rid of the corruption. 

It was all a very bold and grand scheme, but they managed.  
They worked well together.  
Not everything went smoothly, but they made it. 

And when the day came, that Maria was supposed to arrive in the small town that Jean was living in now, Rebecca herself was ready. 

The East Headquarters were already at the practice field with the North and no one would miss her.  
It was perfect.  
And with that in mind, she shouldered her bag, with her personal arsenal and left her apartment. 

Hopefully she would be back again soon, but for now she said farewell to her home and opened the door to hers and hopefully all of Amestris’ future.


End file.
